hi all i had my right side mastectomy in May,recovery has been a breeze.i have been reading lots of posts from all you lovely ladies and feel I may need a second opinion.i had a grade 3 120 mm er-pr- dcis tumour removed with clear margins and no lymph node involvement but....is hormone negative worse than positive and my surgeon said I don't need anymore treatment,but other ladies on here have had chemo etc with lower grades and smaller tumours?he also said it was very aggressive and I have a 50% chance of more cancer?feeling really unsure and would love some advice because if I should have chemo I will because I have 5 kids and a wonderful husband and family that I want to be there forever for ????hugs for all of you xxxxx

Hi Natalie Glad you recovered well from surgery. As for your treatment if you are a bit worried go and ask . A breast care nurse or a 2nd medical opinion. Half way through my treatment I got a bit stressed. Why were some ladies who had bigger lumps and more node involvement getting less treatment than me?? Then I read my pathology (while waiting for chemo). 4.5cm lump 4 nodes cancerous - knew that, but the nodes were grossly affected (5cm clumped) and evidence in the vasc system. Then I talked to the breast care nurse and she answered my questions. For a little while was angry at my onc, then realised that some ladies don't want to know the details and some do. If you want to know you have to ask. With 5 kids and great hubby you prob arent short on hugs but big hug back. Pam

Hi:) Try to remember that everyone's treatment plan is decided because of their individual pathology results .If I am not mistaken,DCIS is a contained BC.It has not escaped into the ducts.If I were you,I would definitely get another opinion,if only for the fact that it will give you peace of mind.As for your question about positive or negative,I don't think there is a 'worse' one.Again,it depends on exactly what your results show.A breast care nurse,as suggested by Pam,is a really good place to start.Cheers Robyn xox

Hi Natalie, I'm a believer that you should follow your gut and get a second opinion, that way your prognosis and treatment options will be more clear for you for ongoing decisions. Glad that your surgery went well for you, and hope that your future treatment goes well for you. Sending you a cuddle, Trace ??

Hi Natalie i also was diagnosed with triple negative in Dec last year. I had a 2.3 cm grade 3 with a 4 cm area of pre cancer. Mine had also gone into 3 nodes ( micronets in two of them). I had lumpectomy followed by chemo and will be having a mastectomy next week. Apparently I won't need radiotherapy because I , am having a mastectomy. Your tumour was larger but confined to the breast and I guess that's why they don't see the need for chemo. Once it is in the nodes chemo is also used to mop up any stray cells that are probably circulating. But ! I would ask about this as I totally understand the need to attack this disease and leave no stone unturned. A second opinion could bring you peace of mind. Have you found your way to the triple negative group here? If you go through it there are lots of informative posts. Also if you look up "triple negative foundation "it has lots of up to date info for us triple neg. Stay away from Dr Google though- lots of doom and gloom re triple eg which is lazy journalism and not reflective of up to date stats and treatment. Lisa

Hi Natalie, Yes I can understand confusion with bc treatment, as so many tumours are different and require different treatment. I agree with an earlier comment and go with your gut instinct and get another opinion. Ask lots of questions. My bc was hormone receptor positive, grade 2. After having a lumpectomy, it was a mucinous tumour (jelly like) 40mm, very irregular with DCIS in the margins. After a second excision was unsuccessful, I had a mastectomy. The full breast pathology showed a second smaller tumour hiding as well. My medical oncologist recommended chemo based on the initial size of the tumour. There were micomets in the sentinel node biopsy (which doesn't change treatment) Radiation oncologist recommended rads based on the fact there were two tumours. During the month of May, when I was in and out of hospital, I remember being really upset and confused, I had a second consult with a different surgeon and spoke to other family/friend surgeons to see if I was on the 'right track'. Having a discussion/consult with someone else does hurt. Hope you're recovering well from your surgery. Karen xx

Feeling confused | BCNA Online Network

13 Replies

Anonymous
11 years ago
Hi Natalie, I'm a believer that you should follow your gut and get a second opinion, that way your prognosis and treatment options will be more clear for you for ongoing decisions. Glad that your surgery went well for you, and hope that your future treatment goes well for you. Sending you a cuddle, Trace ??
Robyn_W
Member
11 years ago
Hi:) Try to remember that everyone's treatment plan is decided because of their individual pathology results .If I am not mistaken,DCIS is a contained BC.It has not escaped into the ducts.If I were you,I would definitely get another opinion,if only for the fact that it will give you peace of mind.As for your question about positive or negative,I don't think there is a 'worse' one.Again,it depends on exactly what your results show.A breast care nurse,as suggested by Pam,is a really good place to start.Cheers Robyn xox
HIT
Member
11 years ago
Hi Natalie Glad you recovered well from surgery. As for your treatment if you are a bit worried go and ask . A breast care nurse or a 2nd medical opinion.

Half way through my treatment I got a bit stressed. Why were some ladies who had bigger lumps and more node involvement getting less treatment than me?? Then I read my pathology (while waiting for chemo). 4.5cm lump 4 nodes cancerous - knew that, but the nodes were grossly affected (5cm clumped) and evidence in the vasc system. Then I talked to the breast care nurse and she answered my questions.

For a little while was angry at my onc, then realised that some ladies don't want to know the details and some do. If you want to know you have to ask. With 5 kids and great hubby you prob arent short on hugs but big hug back.

Pam

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Feeling confused

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